Iran foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Wednesday that a U.S. proposal to end the war is still "under review" by Tehran, local media reported.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia had decided to reject efforts to halt fighting and save lives by launching fresh attacks on Ukraine, which had called a unilateral ceasefire.

The United States and a key mediator in the Middle East war expressed new hope of talks leading to a peace deal with Iran on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump halted a plan to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue told U.S. news portal Axios.

Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn't abided by its own ceasefire, saying that air defenses shot down 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and dawn Wednesday.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would play a "greater role" in ending hostilities in the Middle East during talks with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, a week before U.S. President Donald Trump is due to meet Xi Jinping.

U.S. President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that he has paused the so-called "Project Freedom" to see whether a deal can be signed with Iran, after "great progress" was made toward "a complete and final agreement."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Tuesday that they would respond firmly to any ships that diverge from the Islamic republic's approved route through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump is renewing his criticism of Pope Leo XIV even as Rubio prepares to visit Vatican City, ostensibly to ease tensions between Washington and the Holy See.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Beijing on Tuesday for talks, the foreign ministry said, amid stalled negotiations with the United States to end the Middle East war.

"During the visit, he will meet his Chinese counterpart (Wang Yi) to discuss bilateral ties and regional and international developments," the ministry said in a brief statement.